Jan., 1908 THE TAWNY CREEPER IN WESTERN WASHINGTON 29 



pends entirely on the dimensions of the space between the bark and the main trunk 

 of the tree. Sometimes only a scant handful is sufficient, while in one nest the 

 twigs would have filled a quart measure to overflowing. Slender dead fir twigs, 

 from four to eight inches long, are almost invariably used, and this must frequently 

 be a most arduous piece of business. Twigs have to be thrust into the crevice un- 

 til the first dozen or so lodge firmly, then the rest is easy. In every nest quite a 

 little mound of twigs is found on the ground below, showing how persevering the 

 little architects must have been in the face of repeated failure. Probably they con- 

 sider such twigs as unsuitable; at any rate it never seems to occur to them to pick 

 up a twig when once it has fallen. Scattered amongst this net- work of twigs is 

 always a little green moss and a considerable amount of down taken from ferns, 

 willows and cotton- woods. What purpose these serve, beyond ornamentation, 

 must be known only to the birds themselves. On top, and firmly embedded, is the 

 egg cup of the nest, which is composed of a thick felting of fine strips from the 

 inner bark of the cedar, with occasionally a few feathers. 



The eggs are laid during the first week of May, and are usually five in num- 

 ber, rarely six. In color they are a dull white, plentifully sprinkled with dots of 

 red-brown, most heavily about the larger end. The two sets that I have been 

 fortunate enough to take are a well rounded ovate in shape. In another nest, that 

 was torn down while I was waiting for the bird to complete her set, the broken 

 eggs showed a decided approach to long ovate. My two sets show practically no 

 variation in either size or shape, averaging .47x.58 inches. 



In spite of the early nesting date it is very much open to doubt if more than 

 one brood is reared in a season. Most of my spare time during the past summer 

 was devoted to studying these birds, yet no evidences of a second nesting could be 

 found anywhere. 



A curious fatality seems connected with the young of these birds. In the two 

 nests containing young that I have watched, all the occupants died shortly before 

 they were ready to fly. I could not discover any positive cause for this, but am in- 

 clined to attribute it to ants with which, the trees were infested. In fact it has al- 

 ways seemed strange to me that more nestlings are not destroyed in this manner. 



The birds are very shy in the vicinity of their home, excepting after the eggs 

 are hatched. Even when I knew just where it was and posted myself at a consid- 

 erable distance, the most patient watching has never enabled me to see a bird re- 

 turn to her treasures. 



Tacoma, Washington. 



THE SOUTHERN CAI^IFORNIA CHICKADEE 

 By JOSEPH GRINNEIvIv 



Parus gambeli baileyae 



SuBSPECiFic Characters. — Similar to Parus gambeli gamheli, but coloration 

 dorsally and laterally more plumbeous, less brownish, and bill larger. 



Type.— 6 ad.; No. 5516 Coll. J. G.; Mount Wilson, 5500 feet altitude. Sierra 

 San Gabriel, I^os Angeles County, California; November 27, 1903; collected by 

 J. Grinnell. 



CoivORATiON OF TvPE. — Top of head and hind neck, including loral region, 

 continuously black, save for a pure white superciliary stripe on each side; chin. 



